Farming picks up pace in Dhamtari, farmers demand timely fertilizers, seeds and relief

Dhamtari, July 19 . After two days of continuous drizzle, farming activities picked up across the district as the weather cleared on Sunday. After the rain filled the fields with sufficient water, water has now begun to drain, allowing farmers to quickly begin sowing, plowing, transplanting, and mulching.

Farmers are increasingly active in their fields in most rural areas of the district, including the Dhamtari, Nagari, and Kurud development blocks. Farmers say the recent rains are like nectar for their fields, and if the weather remains favorable, they expect a good harvest this year. However, with the Meteorological Department predicting more rain in the coming days, farmers are keeping an eye on the weather. Farmers who had previously lagged behind in sowing and transplanting due to the lack of rain have now quickly returned to their fields. So far, 288 mm of rainfall has been recorded in Dhamtari tehsil, 272 mm in Kurud, 321 mm in Magarlod, 291 mm in Nagari, 194 mm in Bhakhara, 288 mm in Kukrel, and 294 mm in Belargaon.

The highest rainfall in the district occurred in Magarlod tehsil and the lowest in Bhakhara tehsil. Meanwhile, farmers also highlighted problems related to farming. Panchram Sahu, a farmer from Rampur village in the Kurud development block, said that it is essential to provide fertilizers and seeds to farmers on time so that farming operations can be completed without interruption. Farmer Dinesh Kumar Sahu demanded that agriculture be integrated with the MNREGA scheme, saying this would provide additional relief to farmers and alleviate the burden of rising farming costs. He explained that due to the ever-rising price of diesel, plowing fields with tractors is becoming increasingly expensive. Meanwhile, Manoj Sahu and Birbal Sahu, farmers from Dahi village, said that the cost of farming is constantly increasing, so the government should formulate a comprehensive and effective policy to protect farmers' interests, making agriculture profitable and providing them with financial support.

69.83 percent transplantation and sowing in the district

Deputy Director of Agriculture Monesh Kumar Sahu said that this year the target of farming has been set on 1 lakh 38 thousand hectares in the district. Sowing, sowing and harvesting has been done on a total of 96900 hectares. Sowing has been done on 80.300 hectares, which is 97.46 percent of the target and sowing has been done on only 16600 hectares whereas the target of sowing has been kept at 56370 hectares in the district. The sown crop is now in dire need of irrigation water through rain.